Nick Bostrom for example who seems fairly respected with some money behind his institution. Ideologically 'longtermism' functions the same way as arguments abo

Nick Bostrom for example who seems fairly respected with some money behind his institution. Ideologically 'longtermism' functions the same way as arguments about 'existential risk'. They're often highbrow ways to justify authoritarian stances. To give you a concrete example, Bostrom's writing contains a lot of arguments along the lines of "if there is an infinitesimally small risk of some terrorist making a bioweapon that wipes out life on earth, it's worth to introduce widespread surveillance measures". I'd agree that it's not a particularly common belief system and it's not like the government will be full of draconian longtermists but it has gained some traction. https://cherwell.org/2019/04/27/mass-surveillance-could-save-us-from-extinction-claims-professor/ https://cherwell.org/2019/04/27/mass-surveillance-could-save...